Iceland Foods Is Still Battling To Trademark Its Canceled ‘Iceland’ Trademark In The EU

When it comes to comedy, there is a principle that a physical gag will be funny if done 3 times, but then will stop being funny on any further attempts unless it reaches a much higher number, like 9. To see this in action, you need only look at this clip of the classic gag of Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes in The Simpsons.

That scene is the very first thing I thought of when I came across the news that Iceland Foods, the UK grocer, is appealing again the cancellation of its previous trademark for the term “Iceland”. As a primer for those unfamiliar with this story, Iceland Foods wielded its trademark for years against other entities, but got itself into this mess when it opposed a trademark application for “Inspired by Iceland”. The applicant for that mark was Iceland, the country. Rake to the face.

Well, Iceland petitioned for the removal of Iceland Foods’ mark and it won. Another rake to Iceland Foods’ face. Rather than slink away, the grocer decided to step on another rake by appealing the ruling to the Grand Board of the EUIPO. That same Grand Board denied the appeal, another rake to the face.

You would think at this point that Iceland Foods would have had enough of the losing, the legal fees, and the embarrassment of continuing to fight over this stupid lost trademark against a sovereign nation, but nope. The Sideshow Bob of grocery stores decided that there was at least one more rake out there and appealed their loss on appeal to the General Court of The European Union.

Executive chairman Richard Walker OBE appeared at the General Court of The European Union in Luxembourg on 16 October to provide opening statements in the supermarket’s appeal. This marks the third round of legal proceedings in an eight-year battle over the use of the word ‘Iceland’ for marketing products in the EU.

In a LinkedIn post, Walker described the legal battle as “a really important battle” for his family business. He added: “We have traded under the Iceland name in the UK since 1970 and today we are one of the UK’s most recognised brands with 1000 shops, 5m customers a week and a growing international presence in more than 65 countries – including many in the EU and EEA.”

Dear lord, stop. Nothing in the above has anything to do with the trademark in question. The company can still trade under its business’ name. It can have more specific trademarks, such as one on the whole of its name, “Iceland Foods.” It can still do business internationally.

What it can’t do any longer is bully the shit out of anyone else who wants to use the name of an entire country in their names or marketing material. Including, you know, the country of Iceland, which Walker’s company tried to keep from using its own damned name.

Oh, and one other thing:

The retailer maintains that its name refers to the “land of ice” rather than the country.

Oh, shut up. That is both completely immaterial to this entire debacle and not remotely believable. My sole hope is that this is the last rake the company will step on.